The Arizona Rattlers began 2013 as the defending champs of Arena Football, and ended as the back-to-back champions. Arizona had one picture in mind and that was raising the Foster Trophy in mid-August for a second straight year.
The Rattlers started 2013 strong by winning their first three games by a combined 68 points. Their division rivals Spokane enjoyed a similar 3-0 start, setting up an early season marquee matchup. Arizona and Spokane traded blows for 30 minutes but the Shock pulled away in the third quarter to a 66-49 win, handing Arizona its first loss of the year. The snakes responded like you expect a champion by putting together a nine-game winning streak that featured dominating performances with an 83-40 and a 70-21 wins verse San Antonio, an 82-42 win vs. Orlando, and a 70-26 win vs. Iowa. The Rattlers avenged the week four loss at Spokane with an impressive 59-42 win in the Snake Pit that capped off the nine straight wins. Arizona's attempt at a tenth consecutive victory came up short in week fourteen when a trip to San Jose ended in an ugly 72-42 defeat. The Rattlers responded with back-to-back blowout wins by a combined 65 points to secure another west division crown and home field in the National Conference. All faithful of the desert had a quick panic when Chicago came into the Pit in week eighteen and upset their snakes in a game that Arizona committed seven turnovers. Once again, an experienced and proven team erased an worry with a dominant 84-45 win at Iowa to record their 15th win of the season and head into the playoffs on a solid steam of momentum.
Arizona's path to Arena Bowl XXVI was no easy one, as they had to defeat a pair of western rivals in order to make it to Orlando. In both the conference semifinals and conference championship. The semifinal game vs. San Jose was another compelling chapter among bitter rivals, but a pair of fourth-quarter stops by the Rattler defense secured a tight 59-49 win. It was a similar story in the conference championship against Spokane. The Rattlers trailed by as much as fourteen points in the first half, but used a late onside kick recovery to trim the deficit to four by halftime. Arizona then fed off the momentum to score 37 unanswered points, including a 20-0 margin in the third quarter that featured a pair of defensive stops to spur a 65-57 National Conference championship win. Arizona went through a pair of western rivals en route to a third consecutive appearance in the Arena Bowl. In Arena Bowl XXVI Arizona won a second straight championship by beating Philadelphia for the second year in a row, but this time it was much closer. The first half saw both sides trade blow for blow and the lone difference was a 18-yard field goal by Garrett Lindholm to give Arizona a 24-21 lead at the break. After each quarterback tossed a third quarter touchdown Arizona regained a 31-27 advantage midway through the period. The Rattlers created some space when Jeremy Kellem snagged an end zone interception on the ensuing Philadelphia drive and Nick Davila threw a twelve-yard touchdown to Rod Windsor that grew the lead to eleven early in the fourth. After each side traded a touchdown, Arizona recovered an onside kick with under four minutes to play. The Rattlers looked to have iced the game, but Windsor was hit and fumbled on a receiver sweep that quickly gave the ball back to the Soul with under a minute remaining. Once again the Rattler defense rose to the occasion by forcing a game-saving four-and-out that allowed Lindholm to secure a second straight championship with a 24-yard field goal. Arizona held on to win Arena Bowl XXVI by a final score of 48-39 to earn a second straight title and the franchise's fourth overall.
The Good from 2013:
- The AFL's best record of 18-3, 15-3 in the regular season
- A home record of 8-1, 10-1 with two playoff wins
- 4-2 division record
- A road record of 7-2
- A AFL-best nine-game win streak
- Winning a third straight west division and National Conference title
- Winning Arena Bowl XXVI
- Garrett Lindholm winning Kicker of the Year, Nick Davila being named the Al Lucas AFL Pulse Hero Award recipient, Joe Windham being named the Executive of the Year, and Omarr Smith being named the Assistant Coach of the Year
- Eight All Arena Selections
PLAYER STATS
- Nick Davila 353-541, 4847 yds, 110 TD, 15 Int; 6 rush TD (18 games)
- Odie Armostrong 72 rush, 171 yds, 25 TD; 13 rec, 190 yds, 2 TD (17 games)
- Rod Windsor 110 rec, 1590 yds, 42 TD (16 games)
- Kerry Reed 70 rec, 961 yds, 24 TD; Int FF, Fumb Rec, Def TD (18 games)
- Jared Perry 58 rec, 892 yds, 20 TD (14 games)
- Maurice Purify 51 rec, 740 yds, 9 TD (9 games)
- Tysson Poots 45 rec, 533 yds, 18 TD (8 games)
- Garrett Lindholm 158-167 PAT, 7-12 FG (47) (18 games)
- Virgil Gray 93 tackles, FF, Fumb Rec, 15 Int, 3 Def TD; Kick-ret TD (17 games)
- Marquis Floyd 81 tackles, 2 FF, 2 Fumb Rec, 9 Int, Def TD (16 games)
- Arkeith Brown 79.5 tackles, sack, 2 FF, Fumb Rec, 8 Int, 2 Def TD; 2 Kick-ret TD (18 games)
- Jeremy Kellem 74.5 tackles, FF, 6 Int, Def TD (17 games)
- Marcus Pittman 6.5 sacks, 2 FF, 4 Fumb Rec (16 games)
- Tyre Glasper 5 sacks, FF, 2 Fumb Rec, Def TD (18 games)
TEAM STATS
- Best scoring offense, 66.8 ppg
- Second scoring defense, allowed 48.1 ppg
- Second rush defense, allowed 15.4 ypg
- Second pass offense 292.3 ypg
- Second total offense 309.7 ypg
- Second pass efficiency 122.6
- Best turnover margin +33
- Best opponent pass efficiency 86.8
- Most first downs with 382
- Best 3rd down conversions 50/85
- Fourth in opponent 3rd down conversion 56/140
- Allowed third-fewest sacks with 16
- Sixth 4th down conversions 10/21
- Second 4th down conversions 19/61
- Second red zone offense 100/115
- Third red zone defense 57-76
The Bad from 2013:
- If you win a championship, not much went bad!
PLAYER STATS
- Injuries to Maurice Purify and Tysson Poots that limited their playing time in the regular season
TEAM STATS
- Second-worst pass defense, allpwed 293.3 ypg
- Second-worst total defense 308.7 ypg
- Tenth rushing offense 17.3 ypg
- Allowed second-most first downs 363
- Third-fewest with 19 sacks
Final Take:
The Arizona Rattlers did it! They successfully repeated as AFL champions with an Arena Bowl XXVI title to add to the trophy case. The Rattlers were without a doubt the best team in Arena Football for the second straight year and had the same happy ending in 2013.
2013 Finish: 18-3 (6-2 in West), West Division Champs, National Conference Champs, and Arena Bowl XXVI Champions
For more on the Arizona Rattlers:
http://www.arenafootball.com/
http://www.arenafootball.com/teams/aflrtl/
http://azrattlers.com/
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/03/2013-arena-football-season-kickoff-wild.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/04/2013-afl-season-frist-quarter-anaylsis.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/06/2013-afl-midway-report-west.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/07/afl-turning-into-home-stretch-west.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/08/afl-playoffs-conference-semifinals-recap.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/08/afl-playoffs-conference-championship.html
http://nicksblogofsports.blogspot.com/2013/08/arena-bowl-xxvi-recap.html
http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/stats/2013/CONFSTAT.HTM
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